Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Hope Crossing by Cindy Woodsmall

Hope Crossing by Cindy Woodsmall is the complete trilogy of the Ada's House series. Since it contains 3 full length novels it is a big though cost effective book. The first of the series finds Cara once again on the run from Mike who had been stalking her since before her marriage to Johnny. Every time she moved and changed jobs though Mike soon found her. Johnny had married her to protect her from Mike but he loved her and Cara had grown to love him. Johnny though died in an accident just shortly after Lori, their daughter was 2 years old. Cara's childhood was a blur after the death of her mother at a young age. Her dad had left her at the station with the mysterious words, "Stay here until Emma comes to get you". Cara hadn't moved until the authorities came and took her into foster care where she first came in contact with Mike until age 15 when she ran away and never looked back. Cara, back on the run from Mike, had gone to get Lori and run without even stopping by the apartment to get their clothes. Cara, once again in the station finds herself with feelings of Déjàvu takes over her mind. When had she been here before? She just couldn't remember. Lori started acting up and Cara gave her the journal that she had had since childhood to look at. Her mother had always told her never to write in this one space but she had filled in every other space with her writings. When Lori started writing in that space Cara noticed that an address started to come up in the indentions--Mast Road, Dry Lake, Pennsylvania. Along with hope filling her heart and plan started in her head. Cara took most all the money she had and bought tickets out of New York and to Pennsylvania as close as she could get to Dry Lake. This adventure would take her back to her mother's family in Pennsylvania back to her Amish roots.
The second novel The Bridge of Peace continues Cara's story but concentrates more on Cara's friend Lena Kauffman. Lena is a teacher in the Amish community in the one room 1-8 school. Lena has mostly bright eager to learn young students but one, Peter, is a 15 year old child that his parents insist that he go to school until he graduates 8th grade. Peter is always trying her patience and since she is already on probation since that incident last year Lena is concerned for her job and someone else is sneaking into the school and doing awful things--like the dead cat she found lying on her chair dripping blood from its slit throat. Why does someone have it in for her? What can she do to both keep her job and go back to enjoying life?
The 3rd novel continues the story already started with the previous two but concentrate on Sylvia Fisher who is eldest of a large family of girls. Her father has promised her the farm when she and Elam marry but she has asked Elam to wait until she is older and more ready. Elam quickly asks her 18 year old sister, Beckie, to marry him. Sylvia is devastated of course not only by Elam but most of all because of Beckie. This is the sister that she grew up with, loved and most of all helped her do her chores because she was lazy. Her father refuses to let her leave the home and so she stays until while helping the young family during a time of sickness Elam kisses her. Sylvia leaves home and gives up all her chances at her inheritance to live with the Blank family and help them run their dairy herd. Sylvia grows to love the family even Aaron the only son who has recently returned from rehab for his drinking problem. What she didn't figure on though was falling in love with Aaron.
I got this book and read it quickly though it is quite large,1026 pages large. Ms Woodsmall as always though tells a story as no one else can and easily holds the reader's interest. I would recommend this book for reading for anyone who loves Amish love stories.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.